Understanding your pathology report
A guide to the terms you'll see
The short version
A pathology report is written by a pathologist after examining tissue removed during a biopsy or surgery. It usually includes the diagnosis, tumor grade, biomarker results (ER, PR, HER2), and — after surgery — whether the edges (margins) around the tumor were clear.
A pathology report is written after a pathologist examines tissue from a biopsy or surgery under a microscope and with lab tests. It can look dense and technical, but it usually follows a similar structure.
Common sections
- Diagnosis — the type of cells found, such as or
- Tumor grade — how different the cancer cells look from normal cells
- Biomarkers — , , and results
- Margins (after surgery) — whether cancer cells were found at the edge of removed tissue
- Lymph node status (if nodes were removed) — whether cancer cells were found in nearby lymph nodes
Go deeper: what "clear margins" means
A "clear" or "negative" margin means no cancer cells were seen at the outer edge of the tissue that was removed, which is generally reassuring. A "positive" or "close" margin means cancer cells were seen at or very near the edge, which may lead to a discussion about additional surgery.
If something doesn't make sense
Pathology reports use precise medical language that can be easy to misread. If any part of your report is unclear, ask your care team to walk through it with you rather than trying to interpret it alone.